Light at Full Throttle

21 June 2017

The countdown has finally begun! We’re less than a month away from the launch of our pre-order shipments, and everyone here at Light is working in overdrive. To give you a better sense of what “overdrive” looks like on our end, we’re going to spell it out for you—in numbers.

One month ago, we moved to a new factory in China. We’re gearing up for mass production of the L16, so we needed a little more space. Check out our new digs!

At this very moment, our manufacturers are building the final L16 test model—our PVT21 build. This is a big deal. A very big deal. For reference, we’ve built nearly a dozen versions of prototypes in the past two years. PVT2 is the last one! Can you already feel the camera’s soft grip in your hands? We can. And in about a week, more of our beta testers will be able to as well.

We're in the process of shipping PVT2 cameras to beta testers right now. If you applied to participate in our early feedback program, here’s a hint: keep an eye on your inbox. We won’t be able to accommodate everyone who applied to the beta program—because frankly, the list is a little overwhelming—but we will try to prioritize our pre-order customers. For those lucky few who do make it in, you’ll get the chance to take photos like this one…

Last month, one of our resident photographers, Brian Fulda, spent a long weekend chasing light in Death Valley National Park. As the sun was setting on the dunes one evening, Fulda raced up the tallest drift and snapped this photo of his partner balancing on one of the other sandy peaks.

We’re going to do everything we can to get you shooting with the L16 as fast as humanly possible. (Emphasis on the “humanly.”) Please remember: Real people on the other side of the world are building this insanely complicated, brand-new technology for you. And they're building it by hand.

A few of the people making your L16 a reality. From left: Brenda Wu, Len Hsu, Jones Rajasekar, Atul Maharshi.

To give you an idea of what that entails...

There are more than 3,000 different parts in the L16 camera, which are supplied from at least six different countries around the world. Once they arrive at our factory in China, it takes 60 sets of hands to assemble each camera. Our manufacturing team follows an extensive 79-step process—and that doesn’t even include the 13 times we check each camera’s functionality.

So, when we say we’re going to begin shipping on July 14th, we mean exactly that: we’re going to start shipping cameras to pre-order customers on the 14th. Shipping cameras to all of our pre-order customers won’t happen in just one day—or even one week. It’s not humanly possible. And we don’t want to compromise the quality of our manufacturing for speed. Hopefully, you don’t want that either.

When your camera is almost ready, here’s what will happen:

An email will arrive in your inbox prompting you to complete your order. 2

Once you pay your balance, you’ll receive a confirmation email.

When the camera ships, you’ll get another email with your tracking information.

Right before the camera arrives, we’ll send you one last email with helpful tips and a nifty link to download our software.

Pro tip: Don’t do your happy dance before the doorbell rings. Remember, you need to sign for this extremely precious package.